The work Mimesis examines the encounter between land and science, geography and myth, semiotics and power. The work consists of a series of photographic prints and a pamphlet and is based on the Bodø Affair – a diplomatic conflict from 1818 between Sweden-Norway and Great Britain.
The conflict arose when English traders attempted to smuggle goods into Norway. The authorities seized the cargo in Bodø – 3,000 barrels of rye, 100 barrels of syrup, tobacco and rum. The smugglers, including merchant John Everth, were released on bail, but later demanded compensation through forged documents. When the British threatened to limit the important Swedish-Norwegian lumber export, Norway was pressured in 1821 to pay an indemnity equivalent to one third of the state budget – a defeat that later led to the end of the union between Sweeden and Norway.
A distinctive feature of the case is how British legal documents refer to Bodø as Thule – the mythical land in the north, connected to the eternal sun and a place beyond the borders of the world. Bodø was portrayed as both a trading paradise and a lawless territory in contrast to the contemporary commercial system. Mimesis can be read as a contemporary interpretation of these historical layers, drawing on sources such as the caricature De Famøse Bodørottene and the map Carta Marina. Through reliefs in concrete, inspired by public artworks and friezes, history is remade into photographic works.
The works illuminate how narratives change and weather when they are transformed from text to image, from document to frieze and photograph. In the end, we are left with fragments – traces that invite us to recreate the connections between the fragments of the past.
Mimesis pamphlet
Published 2025
240x190 mm
32 pp
Soft cover, embossed on fromt. Cover paper: Colourplan, Lockwood green
Limited edition of 150
